Poor connectivity mars Henglep
Source: The Sangai Express / S Singlianmang Guite
Lamka, March 10 2011:
Barely 35 km from NH-150 (Tipaimukh road), Henglep sub-divisional headquarters of Churachandpur district needs a Shaktiman truck or a Gypsy jeep for access even during the dry season.
This is the tale of the poor connectivity in the sub-division.
The road leading to Henglep from NH-150 is the only motorable road available in the entire subdivision and its condition relates the sorry state of communication in this part of the country, that boast of its growing economy and global influence.
The horrifying experience over the Shaktiman was a world apart when equated with the connectivity of the villages beyond the sub-divisional headquarters.
A 2 ft wide footpath is the only lifeline and the lone road that connects these villages with the rest of the world.
No wonder that a boy of about 5 years told The Sangai Express at Phai-pijang that he has never been to other places beyond his village.
To his parents, they were lucky enough that none from their three siblings had to be carried through the deep woods for days to get medical treatment.
But the unlucky ones, as his father said, had the chance to see the outside world.
"Taking a child just to see other places when they themselves could not trek through the grueling way were our last option", he said .
"They will ultimately see it when they manage to trek it through", he added.
The isolation they have endured as a result of the poor connectivity has not only isolated them from the sight of the outside world but of the facilities as well.
When this Correspondent tried to get the name of the boy, he simply snubbed, "Why should I give my name to a stranger?" .
Repeated attempts and multiple of snapshots with postures of his own choices extract another response that he indeed attended a school at his own village, and the direction his school was located.
A frantic search to trace the school failed and it is evident that a school to the poor boy is yet to have a meaning; it just happen that he gave his own meaning.
Closer to civilization, L Khengjang was located atop the hills adjacent to vibrant NHPC living quarters at Loktak Power Project, about a 15 minutes walk but a class apart.
Beneath, they could see vehicles donning the black topped streets and sprawling structure complete with living quarters but they have none.
A dilapidated suspension bridge was all that connects them; a motorable bridge is all that will take to bond the two different worlds.